Singapore moves ahead with autonomous taxis as trials expand

Mobility companies in Singapore are moving to bring autonomous taxis onto the roads, with public trials expanding as the city-state pushes for the emerging technology to create a more convenient transport system.

ComfortDelGro, Singapore’s largest taxi service, launched free driverless shuttles last week in the northern district of Punggol, which the government is developing as a “smart eco-town.”

The shuttle, a bluish purple Toyota car with the words “autonomous shuttle” emblazoned along the sides, runs along a seven-kilometer route in 25 minutes, with three designated pick-up and dropoff points.

Passengers can book a ride through ComfortDelGro’s smartphone app. A few hundred people signed up on June 22, according to the company. The free service is reserved for groups, families and those requiring assistance.

“I think I’ll try using this method once it’s [officially] available,” said a 48-year-old civil servant who used the shuttle on June 22. She usually takes the Light Rail Transit, a driverless feeder rail network, to go to the clinic, but says the new option is more convenient.

The autonomous system is powered by technology from Pony.ai, a Toyota Motor-backed Chinese startup, and offers what the industry calls “Level 3” autonomous driving, which lets drivers take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road under certain conditions. A ComfortDelGro employee sits in the driver’s seat to monitor the van and take the wheel if necessary.

Before offering the free service, ComfortDelGro ran invitation-only trials in April in the same area, serving 1,500 passengers.

Cheng Siak Kian, ComfortDelGro’s managing director and group CEO, said in an interview with Nikkei earlier this year that the company was aiming to convert about 10% of its fleet to robotaxis over the next four to five years.

In a news release on June 22, he said autonomous mobility is “no longer a distant ambition,” adding, “We are integrating technology, infrastructure and the operational know-how needed to deploy AV (autonomous vehicle) services safely and at scale.”

Ride-hailing group Grab is also working toward offering autonomous shuttle service in Singapore, with the company actively investing in the technology.

Grab began an invite-only trial in January, and has offered free public rides since April in partnership with Chinese autonomous driving company WeRide. Grab has served more than 5,000 passengers and is targeting a commercial launch later this year.

Both companies are gathering data and operational experience through trials and free services, using them to improve safety before launching commercially.

“Driverless services are expected to complement [the company’s] human driver workforce, help alleviate chronic driver shortages and create opportunities for employees to move into future-ready roles,” said ComfortDelGro in the news release.

Progress has not always been smooth. During testing in January, a ComfortDelGro autonomous vehicle collided with a road divider. No passengers were on board, and no injuries were reported, but the company had to pause trials for two weeks for safety checks.

Ada Lim, an analyst at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, said ComfortDelGro is building future capabilities, although its autonomous vehicle fleet and artificial intelligence-based fleet management are still in “a relatively nascent stage.”

ComfortDelGro has not finalized a timeframe for the start of commercial service or said how much it will charge.

The Singapore government is backing the introduction of autonomous taxi and ride-hailing services to strengthen the public transport network, particularly in residential areas. On June 22, senior minister of state for transport Sun Xueling visited a pickup point in Punggol and spoke with residents trying out the shuttle.

The Ministry of Transport is moving forward with the rollout of autonomous vehicles, with self-driving buses set to offer pilot service on two public routes in Marina Bay in the second half of the year. The Land Transport Authority will initially buy six autonomous buses, which will run alongside its existing service during a three-year trial.